Gate-latch.



D. D. MARTZ.

GATE LATCH.-

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6. 1917.

Patented W0. 5;

DAVID D. MAJ-1T2, 0F PERKINS, OKLAHOMA.

GATE-LATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 5, 191%..

Application filed April 6, 1917. Serial No. 160,190.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID D. MARTZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Perkins, in the county of Payne, State. of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and seful Improvements in Gate-Latches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to latches for gates,

particularly farm and garden gates of the type used with so-called stock fences.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and cheap article of manufacture which will meet all of the requirements of the gate latch, which may be advantageously and economically used upon farms and other places where the equipment must be durable but notcostly. Furthermore, it is the object to provide a latch of the type above described, which may be embodied either in a latch for one-way gates or those opening in both directions.

With the above objects in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, my invention will now be fully set forth and described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings In the drawings Figure 1 i a perspective view of the latch post of a gate having my invention applied thereto, and showing the locking engagement of the gate,

Fig. 2 is an inside elevation of the post,

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of a modified form of the double latch,

Fig. 5 is an inside elevation of the modified form of the invention, and

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6--6 of Fig. 5.

Referring more particularly to the draw ings, 1 represents the latch post of a farm gate, the gate opening in this case being provided with a gate 2 which swings in both directions, and is locked at upper and lower points, the upper and lower latch members being operated simultaneously by a common actuated rod as will hereinafter appear. Mounted upon the inner face of the post 1 are the two latching elements 3, which are duplicates of one another, so that a description of one will answer for both. Each of the latching elements 3 consists of an elongated or flattened loop 4 which is formed of light rod iron, and has the ends of the iron blank brought together at the middle of the length of the loop into a shank 5 which is passed through a bore in the post, after which the projecting ends of the shank are overturned in order to secure the loop in position. Each half portion of the loop d is again divided by a transverse sheet metal strip 6 which is bent around the side of the loop and fixedly clamped in position, so as to constitute of each end of the half of the loop, a retainer and support for a latch ring 7. The latch rings 7 ride between the sides of the loop and are upheld by the transverse element 6. Mounted in slide brackets 8 upon the face of the post is a vertical rod 9 which, above each of the loops t is provided with the branch arms 10 whose free ends are looped around the corresponding ring 7, so that when the rod 9 is vertically lifted, it will carry therewith the rings 7 the relationship being furthermore such that the rings may be individually lifted independently of the arms, and consequently of the remaining latch rims. This independent lifting action will of course come from the latch bar 11 of the gate, when it is swung into locking position from either direction.

The modification shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6shows the arrangement of the rims for a one-Way opening gate, the brackets 13 consisting of angularly projected loops 14: formed of rod iron or scrap iron, and having the arms 15 which overlie the inner face and sides of the post. The loops 1 1 are traversed by means of the straps 16 around which the rings 17 are engaged, after the manner of the rings 7 in the form above described. The angular direction of the rings and brackets 14 is such that a latch bar which extends past the inner face of the post 1 will ride below the rings and permit the latter to fall thereover when the gate is swung to closed position, and will prevent its disengagement until the latch is again lifted. Mounted in guides 18 behind the brackets 13 is an operating rod 19 from which. the loop 20 extend to engage the rings 17. In its operation this form acts substantially in the same manner as the double ring form above described.

From the foregoing it is evident that I have provided an efficient, simple and cheap form of latch which, as an article of manufacture may be turned out in large quanttties and may be adapted for use on any form of farm gate either of the one-way or twoway type, and is furthermore not limited to gates merely of wooden structure but may be used with any of the newer manufactures of stock fence gates made of metal, and wire fabric. l

lVhat I claim as my invention is The combination with the latch bar of a gate and gate post, ofa transversely extending elongated loop carried by the gate post, said'loop being formed of a continuous bar and having its ends projected through the post, the ends of the loop extending beyond the post on both sides, a traversing strap surrounding each half of the loop, rings vertically slidable in the loop and surrounding each of the traversing straps, a vertical bar carried by the post and vertically slidable through the loop, and arms extending 20 DAVID D. MARTZ.

Witnesses:

RICHARDYJ SMITH, NILE O. CHANTRY.

' denies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washlngton ,D. c. 

